Former welfare investigator: Benefits rarely meet even most basic needs

Saturday

Nov 30, 2013 at 1:00 PM

I just read the most ridiculous assertion that I have heard in ages in the letter "Why don't young people want to work? Look to welfare payments" (Nov. 27).

The letter claimed that "you can live fairly comfortably on welfare" and that by some hocus-pocus formula, a household on welfare is actually receiving $167.64 per day. It is fairly obvious that people who believe this have never lived even one day on welfare.

I was a welfare investigator for 30 years, and the vast majority of recipients do not get rich or even have their basic needs met on welfare.

As to the $167.65-per-day claim, only if the household used medical assistance and some form of social/housing assistance every day of the year could it get close to that figure. The vast majority of people don't get sick every day.

The letter blissfully ignores the multitude of newspaper articles that report how councilmen or politicians voluntarily put themselves on food stamp budgets of $5 per day and how hard it is to live on that amount.